The invention relates to an apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions and to a method of operating such an apparatus.
It is advantageous to package dosed quantities of solid drug portions, such as tablets, capsules and pills, in bags, pouches or other types of packaging, wherein the solid drug portions in each bag are packed separately per ingestion. The bags are provided with user information, such as the day and time of day the medicines have to be taken. The bags for one particular user are usually attached to each other and supplied rolled up in a dispenser box.
The filling of individual packages with dosed quantities of solid drug portions (batches) is increasingly being automated. A known apparatus for dosing solid drug portions for final packaging in individual packages comprises a plurality of supply containers respectively provided with different types of medicine. After reading or entering a medicine prescription, the supply containers relevant to the prescription are opened in order to allow a dosed quantity of solid drug portions to drop into a central fall duct and further into a funnel positioned under the supply containers. At the bottom of the funnel the selectively released solid drug portions are received in a packaging, such as a bag, after which the packaging is closed. Providing the packaging with user information can be realized here prior to or following filling of the packaging. A known apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions, described in EP 1 433 457 A1, comprises a plurality of storage containers (called tablet cases comprising a drive base and a container) each storing a plurality of solid drug portions and having a dosing means (in the drive base) for dispensing dosed quantities of solid drug portions. Below an upper section of the apparatus containing the storage containers two collecting receptacles are formed (called shutters). Each shutter receives the solid drug portions from one half of the storage containers and outputs the drug portions to a hopper which passes the drug portions to a packaging station. Vertical chutes formed by gaps between two shelves of storage containers guide the solid drug portions dispensed by the dosing means of the storage containers to one of the two collecting receptacles.
The known apparatus does however have several drawbacks. A significant drawback of the known apparatus is that the filling frequency of the apparatus depends to a considerable extent on, and is limited by, the (longest) drop time of the dispensed solid drug portions in the vertical chutes, whereby the filling frequency of the known apparatus is limited and cannot be increased. However, owing to the permanently increasing demand for medicines there is a need in practice to provide more packages of a dosed quantity of solid drug portions per unit time.
Undisclosed Dutch patent application NL2007384 discloses an apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions, comprising a plurality of dosing stations for dispensing a dosed quantity of solid drug portions, a first endless conveying means for conveying along the dosing stations a plurality of fall tubes, wherein each fall tube is adapted to guide a dosed quantity of solid drug portions delivered by at least one dosing station, a second endless conveying means for conveying a plurality of collecting containers, wherein each collecting container is adapted to receive solid drug portions guided through a fall tube, at least one discharge and packaging station for discharging solid drug portions collected by each collecting means to a packaging, and for closing the packaging provided with the dosed quantity of solid drug portions.
The apparatus in accordance with NL2007384 has a very high throughput, i.e. a very high number of solid drug portions is guided by the fall tubes. Due to the vast number of solid drug portions guided though the fall tubes, the inner surfaces of the fall tubes are contaminated with the residues of the drug portions over time. These residues can be transported to the collecting receptacles and further into the bags for the user. To prevent such unwanted transport of residues, the fall tubes have to be cleaned on a regular basis. Before cleaning the fall tubes they have to be removed from the apparatus which is time-consuming and requires an undesirable machine shutdown. During maintenance/cleaning of a removed fall tube, the apparatus must remain deactivated, as the apparatus has no information which fall tube at which position on the first conveying means has been removed for maintenance.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions with enhanced operating reliability and a method for operating an apparatus accordingly.
This object is solved by apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions according to claim 1. The apparatus comprises
a plurality of dosing stations for dispensing solid drug portions, each dosing station having an outlet,
a plurality of collecting means (e.g. collecting containers or guiding ducts with associated collecting receptacles) for collecting dosed quantities of solid drug portions dispensed by the dosing stations and for forwarding the dosed quantities of solid drug portions to a packaging means, each collecting means comprising an identifier means (e.g. an imprint of a number or a code on the collecting means, a sticker with a barcode or a QR code, or a memory or transponder chip) with a unique collecting means identifier (i.e. a number, name or code),
a conveying means (e.g. an endless conveyor belt) comprising a plurality of mounting means at mounting positions arranged in a chain extending along a path of movement of the conveying means, each collecting means being detachably mounted to one of the mounting means and moved by the conveying means along the dosing stations,
control means (e.g. a control unit, a computer or a network of computing devices) for controlling the operation of the dosing stations, the conveying means and the packaging means, and
input means (e.g. a keyboard or reading devices) coupled to a control means for inputting the collecting means identifier,
the control means being configured so as to maintain a mapping (e.g. a table, a data base or data associated by pointers) between identifiers (e.g. running position numbers or mounting position codes) assigned to each mounting means or mounting position and the unique collecting means identifiers of the collecting means mounted to the mounting means.
Preferably, the mapping, i.e. the association between the mounting means identifiers and the unique collecting means identifiers, is maintained within a memory of the control means enabling the unambiguous allocation of a collecting means to a mounting means. The mapping is not limited to these identifiers and can contain further data depending on the application of the apparatus. For example, the mapping can include data about the operating time of a collecting means or its material.
The mapping can have the form of a simple table, assigning, via the unique identifiers, the collecting means to the mounting means on the conveying means. The mapping allows an unambiguous allocation of collecting means to mounting means, in other words, the control unit “knows” which collecting means is mounted to which mounting means.
In accordance with the invention, the collecting means are moved along the dosing stations, i.e. they are not stationary. However, the control means controls the drives driving the conveying means and thus the control means knows the positions of the mounting means within the apparatus. Due to the knowledge of the positioning of the mounting means, the link between the mounting means and the collecting means is essential, wherein this link is provided by the mapping.
The mapping can be created when assembling the apparatus or putting it in operation. Alternatively, the mapping can be created during operation (see below).
In case it is determined that a given fall tube is contaminated, the collecting means identifier is read out and the obtained collecting means identifier data is entered into the control means. As a result, the mapping is updated indicating that the collecting means is contaminated and should not be used for further collecting steps.
In the simplest case the collecting means identifier can be deleted, resulting in the mounting means being assigned to no collecting means identifier, which indicates to the control means not to use the collecting means at the corresponding mounting position. Alternatively, further data may be added to the mapping indicating that the collecting means should no longer be used. For example, a bit can be set indicating that the collecting means is contaminated and should not be used anymore.
In a preferred embodiment the conveying means comprises a marker (e.g. an optical mark, a mechanical member for actuating a switch or a proximity sensor, or a magnetic member for actuating a hall sensor) of a reference position that has a fixed relationship (e.g. a constant distance along the path of movement of the conveying means) to the mounting positions of the mounting means, the marker being moved together with the mounting means, wherein the control means is coupled to a stationary reference position sensor for detecting the marker moving along, wherein the identifier assigned to each mounting means or mounting position corresponds to or is a function of a distance of the mounting position from the reference position. A sensor (for example an optical sensor) can be arranged within the apparatus and the conveying means can include a corresponding optical tag, wherein the passing of the tag is detected by the sensor. Alternatively, the conveying means can include a manner of light barrier, wherein the interruption of the light beam is caused by some part of the conveying means and used to assess the positioning of the conveying means (and therefore the positioning of the mounting means and the collecting means) within the apparatus. As a further alternative, the positioning of the conveying means can be determined when assembling/calibrating the apparatus. To compensate for possible slippage of the conveying means it is preferable to determine the positioning on a regular basis using a kind of sensor. The provision of a reference position marker makes it possible to simply use fixed relative position numbers as identifiers of the mounting means or mounting positions.
In a preferred embodiment the mapping comprises status information associated to each collecting means identifiers, the status information indicating an operating status of the corresponding collecting means. Preferably, the status information indicate whether the corresponding collecting means can be used for collecting drug portions and/or whether the corresponding collecting means has to be cleaned. The operating status information can be used by the control means to control the dispensing and collecting process in an efficient manner. So it is possible to skip collecting means that are marked as prohibited or contaminated, i.e. to cause the dosing stations not to dispense solid drug portions into these collecting means while continuing to move these collecting means along the dosing stations.
In one embodiment the identifier means of the collecting means are machine-readable, and the input means comprise a reading means for reading the machine-readable identifier means. Preferably, the reading means is positioned in a fixed relationship to the conveying means so that the reading means can read the machine-readable identifier means of the collecting means mounted to the mounting means, when the mounting means are moved along the path of movement. This embodiment allows for an automatic learning process for creating the mapping to be stored in the control means. The conveying means is moved until the reference position marker activates the stationary reference position sensor. Then the control means knows the current position of the conveying means and its mounting positions. The control means then causes the reading means to read the unique collecting means identifier positioned at the reading means, wherein the control means knows which mounting means is positioned at the reading means, so that the read collecting means identifier can be associated to the identifier (e.g. position number) of that mounting means. Then, the control means stores this pair of identifiers into its mapping and causes the conveying means to advance until the next identifier means with the next unique collecting means identifier can be read. This step is repeated, until all collecting means identifiers are read and the mapping is complete.
In a preferred embodiment the dosing stations are arranged in a plurality of parallel columns, each column comprising a plurality of dosing stations, wherein each collecting means comprises a guiding duct and an associated collecting receptacle, the guiding ducts being arranged to guide the solid drug portions from the outlets of the dosing stations to the associated collecting receptacles. This makes it possible to dispense multiple solid drug portions simultaneously into the same collecting means in a pipelined manner. A dosing station can output a next drug portion into a next collecting means while the previously output drug portion of the same dosing station is still guided (e.g. falling) in the guiding duct (e.g. fall tube) of the previous collecting means. Thus the dosing station does not have to wait, until the drug portion has fallen down to the bottom and reached the collecting receptacle. This leads to a higher filling rate and a higher throughput of the apparatus.
In a further preferred embodiment the guiding duct and the associated collecting receptacle of a collecting means are separate and can be decoupled so that the collecting receptacle can be moved away from the guiding duct and subsequently coupled with another guiding duct. Preferably, the conveying means comprises a first endless conveyor and a second endless conveyor, the guiding ducts being coupled to fixed mounting positions of the first endless conveyor and the collecting receptacles being coupled to fixed mounting positions of the second endless conveyor. Physically separating the collecting receptacles from the guiding ducts makes it possible to guide the collecting receptacles away from the guiding ducts, which can not only be advantageous at the discharge and packaging station of the apparatus, but particularly also because this makes it possible to guide the collecting receptacles along one or more other types of (special) dosing stations for direct dispensing of drug portions to the collecting receptacles, not via the guiding ducts.
In one embodiment the apparatus further comprises a cleaning device for cleaning the collecting means. The cleaning device can be positioned so that each collecting means is moved by the conveying means along the cleaning device. The cleaning device can be coupled to the control means. The control means can activate the cleaning device, if a collecting means which is marked as contaminated is positioned at the cleaning device.
The object of the invention is also solved by a method for operating an apparatus for packaging dosed quantities of solid drug portions, said apparatus comprising a plurality of dosing stations for dispensing solid drug portions, a plurality of collecting means for collecting dosed quantities of solid drug portions dispensed by the dosing stations and forwarding the dosed quantities of solid drug portions to a packaging means, a conveying means for conveying the collecting means comprising a plurality of mounting positions each for receiving one collecting means, the mounting positions arranged in a chain extending along a path of movement of the conveying means, control means for controlling the operation of the dosing stations, the conveying means and the packaging means, and a reading means coupled to the control means, the method comprising:                a) assigning a unique collecting means identifier to each collecting means and attaching an identifier means comprising the assigned collecting means identifier to each collecting means,        b) detachably mounting each collecting means to the conveying means at one of the mounting positions, and successively reading the collecting means identifier of each mounted collecting means by the reading means, and associating the read collecting means identifier to an identifier of the corresponding mounting position,        c) maintaining a mapping of the collecting means identifiers and the associated identifiers of the corresponding mounting positions, and        d) conveying the collecting means along the dosing stations, so that the collecting means can receive the solid drug portions dispensed by the dosing stations, collecting solid drug portions by the collecting means and forwarding the collected solid drug portions to a packaging means.        
In a preferred embodiment of this method, in step b), the collecting means identifier of each mounted collecting means are read by successively moving all collecting means along the reading means after all collecting means have been mounted to the conveying means, wherein the identifiers of the corresponding mounting positions are associated by assigning a start position to a first one of the collecting means positioned at the reading means and associating running position numbers of the mounting positions that are subsequently positioned at the reading means.
In a preferred embodiment step d) comprises: observing, for each collecting means, the numbers of solid drug portions collected and forwarded by that collecting means, and associating, to each collecting means identifier, a parameter indicating a degree of contamination, the parameter depending on the amount of solid drug portions collected and forwarded by that collecting means. Preferably, a collecting means is excluded from further collecting and forwarding of solid drug portions, if the parameter indicating a degree of contamination exceeds a predetermined threshold value. In another embodiment an cleaning required indication is associated to the collecting means identifier, if the parameter indicating a degree of contamination exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The contamination level of a collecting means can be determined on the basis of the operating time of a collecting means, wherein this determination is performed by the control means on the basis of additional data stored in the mapping. The operating time of the collecting means can depend on their characteristics (such as material, coating of the inner surface) or the kind of drug portions guided through the collecting means. Alternatively or additionally, the contamination level of a collecting means can be determined with a sensor assigned to a collecting means. A sensor (or at least a part of the sensor) can be arranged within each collecting means, or one sensor can determine the level of contamination of each passing collecting means provided the collecting means are adapted accordingly (for example with a detection opening or the like). The sensor is coupled to the control means, and based on the mapping the control means can determine which collecting means passes the sensor.
In one embodiment the collecting means is cleaned, if the parameter indicating a degree of contamination exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and the corresponding parameter indicating a degree of contamination is reset after cleaning. The collecting means can be detached from the mounting position, then cleaned external to the apparatus, and mounted again to the conveying means at one of the mounting positions, wherein the collecting means identifier is read by the reading means, and associated to the identifier of the corresponding mounting position.
In one embodiment the collecting means can be detached from the mounting position, after the conveying means has moved the collecting means to a demounting place, and wherein the collecting means can be mounted again to the conveying means at one of the mounting positions, after the conveying means has moved that mounting position to a mounting place.
A collecting means may be removed for maintenance immediately upon determination of its contamination. Alternatively, the contaminated collecting means may be removed during a scheduled shutdown of the apparatus. After maintenance (cleaning in most cases) of the contaminated collecting means, it has to be re-inserted in the apparatus. Alternatively, another or a new collecting means is inserted.
Before (or after) inserting the cleaned or new collecting means, its unique identifier is read out and the identifier data is entered via the input means into the control means and the mapping is updated accordingly (depending on the amendment to the mapping upon tagging a mounting means as to be excluded from further collecting steps), either by assigning the identifier data to the unassigned mounting means or by amending the mapping indicating that the mounting means/the collecting means can be used again.
In case a number of collecting means are contaminated during normal operating time, the procedure as described can be applied, provided that the collecting means are maintained separately, i.e. only one collecting means is removed/maintained at a given time.
The method may contain the additional steps of detaching the contaminated collecting means for maintenance purposes, and reading out the collecting means identifier, entering the collecting means identifier data into the control means and tagging the mounting means the collecting means was coupled to as being empty (using the mapping maintained within the memory of the control means). By doing so it is ensured that the control unit keeps track of the occupied and the empty mounting means enabling proper installation of new and/or maintained collecting means.
To ensure proper installation of new and/or maintained collecting means, the method may comprise the further steps of installing the collecting means at a mounting means and reading out the collecting means identifier, entering the collecting means identifier data into the control means and tagging the mounting position/the collecting means as to be included for further collecting steps. In case a plurality of mounting means for a plurality of collecting means are empty when a collecting means is inserted, additional data is required to identify the mounting means the collecting means was coupled to/should be coupled to. These additional data can be entered by the operator or provided by a sensor assigned to the mounting means to which the fall tube was coupled.
The apparatus may comprise a maintenance device arranged around a part of the chain of collecting means. In this case the method may comprise the additional step of passing each collecting means through the maintenance device. In the case that the maintenance device is not arranged around a part of the chain of collecting means, the method may comprises the further steps of removing the contaminated collecting means from the corresponding mounting means and moving it to the maintenance device, and, upon completion of maintenance, moving the collecting means to an empty mounting means and coupling it to the mounting means. As this kind of maintenance/cleaning process is automated, a sensor should be assigned to each mounting means, allowing the control means to monitor which collecting means is removed from which mounting means.